Monthly Archives: February 2015

Each month, Mrs. DeGroote provides updates and information regarding DGH’s Nutritional program. Below is Mrs. DeGroote’s March update. As always, thank you to Mrs. DeGroote and her volunteers who put out the daily nutritional snacks that is available to all of our students each morning.

Every year in June I fill out a report on Breakfast Club’s spending and apply for funding for the next school year. Yearly, we do receive funding BUT the amounts wwe receive dwindle. To help supplement this shortfall, I apply to Breakfast for Learning for additional funds.

I am pleased to announce that in the past week, we have received the final installment payments from both Ontario Early Years and Breakfast for Learning.

In addition to our regular funding, we have recently received a generous donation from the Little Britain United Church women’s group. They wanted to serve “Children in Need”. Our nutrition program fulfills this concern.

While it might seem that Breakfast Club is “rolling in the money”, keep in mind, we serve approximately 80+ children daily, 5 days a week. I shop frugally, following the sales at the various grocery stores. As you all know the price of food continues to rise. Hence the recent funding that we have received will soon decrease. If you can contribute to Breakfast Club financially or with healthy food items, it is tremendously appreciated.

One way that I hope to replenish Breakfast Club’s funds is by selling fruit kabobs, every Wednesday in the month of March. This is part of our Nutrition Month celebration. The delicious fruit kabobs will hold a selection of fruit and cheese. They will be prepared by Mrs. King and Mrs. Salt, two of our wonderful volunteers. For only $2.00 your children will be treated to a lovely fruit kabob and support our valuable nutrition program.

Another activity that will take place during March will be a Breakfast Recipe contest, running for the whole month. I am hoping to receive nutritious and innovative recipes that we can implement in our breakfast program. The winner from each grade division will be announced on March 31. Their class will sample their recipe.

Criteria for the contest will include following Canada’s Food Guide, simple everyday ingredients, preparation using only a microwave oven or griddle. Prep time should only take about 5 to 10 minutes. Complete your recipe with all the ingredients and equipment needed, preparation instructions, your name, your teacher’s name and room number. The recipes can be left at the office.

In addition, during the last week of March, each day there will be a nutrition trivia question on the morning announcements. I will sort the entries according to grade levels. The following Monday, I will announce the classes from each division that had the most correct responses. The winning classes will receive a nutritious snack, courtesy of Breakfast Club.

With a busy month ahead, be assured that the students of Dr. George Hall will be embracing Nutrition Month in a healthy way.

(I wanted a picture of “Huskies Pajamas” – it does not get any more authentic than th

One of DGH’s most popular Spirit Days is back…PAJAMA DAY!

On Friday, February 27th, the Student Leadership team is encouraging students to wear their favourite pajamas to school! Let’s hope that if everyone wears their warm, winter pajamas on Friday that it will convince winter that while we enjoy the season…it is time for him to go away and for the weather to start to warm up!

As always, the pajamas have to be school appropriate, which would include things like:

• no inappropriate/offensive language or pictures

• not be showing stomach/back

• not have “spaghetti straps” on the shoulders

It would be great to have HUGE participation in this spirit day, Huskies! Put your pajamas out on Thursday night so that do not forget them Friday morning!

Students, parents and guardians – please sign, detach and return the bottom portion of page 3 and 4 of the report card to the school. This portion of the report card is returned to the student’s homeroom staff member.

Students fill out the bottom portion of page 3. Parents/guardians fill out the bottom portion of page 4.

As always, if you have questions regarding your child’s report card, please contact your your child’s homeroom staff member. The goal really is to have an open line of communication. Through this communication it is truly hoped to prevent/resolve potential issues and maintain a positive home-school working relationship.

DGH’s grade 6s are off to the Yearley Outdoor Education Centre next week for 1 night and 2 days. The TLDSB is fortunate to have the Yearley Outdoor Education Centre which gives all grade 6s in our board the opportunity to learn about the outdoors which surround almost every one of our schools.

While at Yearley, students participate in a variety of activities from orienteering to the ever popular “survival game” where students take on the role of various animals in the local ecosystem. The centre runs year round and activities are somewhat dictated by the season.

The activities are wonderful; however, the experience is just as much about bonding for the grade 6s. Cooperation and group work is key at Yearley and students often realize the hidden talents of others’.

Let’s hope that the weather keeps warmer (and not like the middle of February!).

Parents, guardians and DGH school community, the grade 6, 7 and 8 classes are once again selling Elmira Chicken products as a fundraiser for their end of the year trips. Thank you to Ms. Graham for organizing this fundraiser again.

Important Dates:

Starts: Tuesday, February 24th

Ends: Monday, March 9th

Delivery: TBD (in March at some point)

Students sell chicken on an individual basis and all of the profits that they raise go towards their own year-end trip. The more a student sells…the more profit they earn…and the more the cost of the trip is reduced!

If you are interested in purchasing chicken, but do not have a student in any of these grades, please contact the school office and we can help sign you up with a student.

Congratulations to all of our Junior and Intermediate speakers who spoke today at Dr. George Hall’s school level speeches. Our “outside of the school judges” commented on the talent and ability of this year’s contestants – along with the good behaviour of our audience (which was exceptionally good!).

This year, our Juniors and Intermediates spoke in the same assembly (with Juniors competing against Juniors and Intermediates competing against Intermediates). The quality of speeches was OUTSTANDING! We had a mix of serious and humorous speeches on a wide range of topics. The preparation (researching the topic, writing the speech and memorizing the speech) put in by our presenters must have been significant, to say the least.

Below you will find our top 2 speakers for each division (in no particular order), along with the alternate speaker (if one of the top 2 speakers is unable to speak at the Woodville Legion competition).

Junior Division

Caitlyn O

Gavin G

Alternate

Faith M

Intermediate Division

Mackenzie W

Amanda C

Alternate

Samantha L

A list of all of our speakers is below. On behalf of the school, I would like to thank all of these students. It is no easy thing to stand up in front of 250 people and do such a wonderful job.

We wish good luck to 2 of our 3 supply teachers who are finishing up their placements at DGH this Friday, February 27th. Ms. Coumbs, who has been working in Mrs. Alexander’s grade 4/5 class, and Ms. Jenkins, who has been working in Ms. Schmiegelow’s grade 3 class, have been with us since February 9th. We will wish good luck to Ms. Seabrooke on March 13th (her placement was a little longer than the others’).

Both will be completing additional training back at university and further classroom placements. Thank you for coming to DGH and being great fits with our school. Good luck with your future endeavors!

The grade 7 and 8 Tubing and Cross-County Activity takes place on Friday, February 27th. The event had to be rescheduled due to the extreme cold on its original date (Friday, February 14th). Let’s hope that temperatures on the 27th are a little more moderate!

Participating students will be travelling to Horseshoe Valley. Intermediate staff tell me that this is an “amazing” day – with the tubing being a highlight.

Our top speakers from participating classes will be taking part in the School Level Speeches tomorrow morning.

Key Information for Those Wishing To Watch Our Speeches

1. Both Junior and Intermediate speakers will be presenting in the First Block. We are aiming to start no later than 9:15 a.m. and hopefully earlier than that. Our goal is to be finished by 10:40 a.m.. Speeches will be taking place in the gym.

2. Speakers will be drawing numbers on Monday afternoon to determine speaking order on Tuesday morning.

3. Junior speakers will be only be judged against other Junior speakers; Intermediate speakers will only be judged against other Intermediate speakers.

4. As always, all visitors to the school should start their visit to Dr. George Hall by signing in at the office before heading down to the gym.